1. Pepsi Max, ‘unbelievable’
Bewildered Londoners waiting for a bus found themselves confronted by a prowling tiger, a crashing meteor, a giant robot moving towards them and aliens grabbing people off the street. Pepsi Max’s remarkable use of out-of-home technology reinforced the brand’s "unbelievable" message of a product combining maximum taste and no sugar.
Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Creatives: Richard Peretti, Gary Lathwell
2. Sarson’s, ‘the fish and chip campaign’
After a decade’s absence from major advertising, Sarson’s vinegar made its comeback with this series of retro-style ads that humorously celebrate Friday night as the time for a fish-and-chip supper. They were a beautifully designed, warm and nostalgic series of executions by the illustrator Paul Thurlby. "I noticed that fish can look quite scary in illustrations and wanted mine to look friendlier," he says.
Agency: Mcgarrybowen
Creatives: Remco Graham, Richard Holmes
3. Audi, ‘the Audi dashboard’
An extraordinary example of how Audi, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and JCDecaux harnessed a state-of-the-art communications channel to grab the attention of affluent commuters and bring a new dimension to railway advertising. The car-maker became the first brand to advertise on the giant digital screen at London’s Waterloo Station, using live statistics and quirky station facts linked to the Audi range. Example: "31,451 cups of coffee bought. If this was petrol, you could drive an Audi A3 Sportback to the Moon."
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Creatives: Matt Doman, Ian Heartfield
4. McDonald’s, ‘loading’
A nice idea cooked up on behalf of McDonald’s to take advantage of the advertising hoardings in Piccadilly Circus being updated from analogue to digital – their first renovation in 25 years. To maintain the fast-food giant’s relationship with its audience during the building work, McDonald’s created a poster of a "loading" message made from one of its French fries dipped in ketchup. The poster was refreshed over a three-month period to show the progress towards a return to normal service.
Agency: Leo Burnett
Creatives: Alison Steven, Liam Bushby
5. Harvey Nichols, ‘bad fit’
No list of the year’s best outdoor ads would be the same without Harvey Nichols, and its summer sale campaign underlines the gap between this advertiser and its rivals. In theory, this campaign shouldn’t work. What fashion retailer would want to dramatise the fact that their clothes don’t fit very well? In practice, the ads are startling and engaging and perfectly capture the brand’s personality.
Agency: Adam & Eve/DDB
Creatives: Richard Brim, Daniel Fisher
6. McCain, ‘100% British potatoes’
McCain’s advertising will never win a stack of awards but it has always been high in the feel-good factor. This out-of-home campaign is no exception. It spoofs one of the most iconic images in British music history by showing four farmers striding across a potato field in the style of The Beatles on their Abbey Road album cover. The campaign perfectly captures the confidence of a brand that convinced health-conscious Britons that it was OK to eat chips again.
Agency: BMB
Creatives: Tom Sillars, Dani Asensio
7. Tetley, ‘quality cuppas’
Here’s a poster that makes a compelling case for rushing home and putting the kettle on and relaxing with a cuppa. This year marks Tetley tea’s 175th anniversary so it is appropriate that the ad, featuring the Tea Folk’s Gaffer tasting a cup in his workshop, creates a nice juxtaposition of the serious business of tea-making with Tetley’s friendly tone of voice.
Agency: Creature
Creatives: Sam Bishop, Mike Eichler, Lydia Raghavan, Stephanie Rohr
8. Axe/Lynx, ‘call to arms’
The way Unilever’s Axe dominates the young-adult market for deodorants is due in no small measure to its capacity to keep its advertising fresh. And this year’s campaign has been no exception. The testosterone has been toned down and the bikini babes abandoned in favour of an updated "make love, not war" message for its new spray fragrance, Peace. While the TV commercial features dictator doppelgängers, the poster campaign emphasises the power of the "Lynx effect" with plastic soldiers enjoying some R&R with their girlfriends.
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Creatives: Daniel Schaefer, Szymon Rose, Jack Smedley, George Hackforth-Jones
9. Paddy Power, ‘traitor Tony’
You can always bet on Paddy Power to come up with something that is irreverent, off-the-cuff but right on the money when communicating with its young market. And the bookmaker didn’t disappoint with its quick-off-the mark tactical campaign in the wake of England’s World Cup defeat by Italy. The result was a billboard featuring an unfortunate punter called Tony who found himself caged up for betting on the correct result.
Agency: Crispin Porter & Bogusky
Creatives: Joe Bruce, Kate Baker
10. Wall’s, ‘goodbye serious’
Wall’s ice-cream, the brand once famous for its opera singer belting out "just one Cornetto", returned after a ten-year advertising absence. To lick the new marketing approach into shape, the brand released a campaign to revitalise its appeal by returning it to the heart of the British summer. The cheeky tone in which Wall’s products now talk to each other is illustrated in the posters by the Cornetto asking the Twister: "What do you do to unwind?"
Agency: Adam & Eve/DDB
Creatives: Nick Sheppard, Tom Webber